


no shoes

by starkslovemail



Series: iron husbands week 2019 [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Harley Keener Needs a Hug, IronHusbands Week 2019, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark at MIT, James "Rhodey" Rhodes Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, M/M, MIT Era, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 14:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20602484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkslovemail/pseuds/starkslovemail
Summary: There was a long-standing rule in the Stark-Rhodes household, one that had originated in a tiny MIT dorm room and continued on in every single place Tony and Rhodey called their own:No shoes.





	no shoes

**Author's Note:**

> rhodeytony week day 3: height difference
> 
> real talk this did not go the way i expected it to, but i still kinda like it so i hope y'all do too <3

There was a long-standing rule in the Stark-Rhodes household, one that had originated in a tiny MIT dorm room and continued on in every single place Tony and Rhodey called their own:

No shoes.

It wasn’t for the reasons anyone ever suspected. For most families, it was cultural or simply to keep the house clean. But with the elusive Stark-Rhodes home that only ever had a handful of visitors over the years, no one really knew why.

The fact that there even _was_ a Stark-Rhodes household was still a closely held secret. Part of the reason why Tony had been so recklessly liberal in broadcasting the address to his Malibu home was because it wasn’t his home. Yes, he slept there and kept his suits there and spent the majority of his post-MIT life there, but it wasn’t _home_.

Home was with Rhodey.

Home _was_ Rhodey.

And that was why Tony hadn’t protested when Rhodey had come up with the idea all those years ago.

“Hell no,” Tony deadpanned. 

“Tones, hear me out,” Rhodey held his hands up placatingly. “I think it would be good for you.” 

They had just finished moving Tony’s things into Rhodey’s dorm for the spring semester. Ty had—_finally—_flunked out of MIT, and Howard had been surprisingly amiable to Tony moving in with someone else. At first, he had no idea why, but then Howard had given him a pat on the back that made his skin crawl, saying that he was glad Tony was _finally being smart for once in your life. If Rhodes introduces you to anyone, pay attention. Personal military contacts are good for business._

But Tony wasn’t going to focus on that because he was moving in with his Rhodeybear, and that was all that mattered.

Everything was going perfectly until Rhodey had sat him down and said they should make dorm rules.

The first of which was no shoes.

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about, Platypus,” Tony gave a careless shrug. “Walking around in my socks isn’t going to do anything but increase my exposure to infectious disease.” 

Rhodey gave him a pointed look, “I’m going to ignore the inaccurate as hell implication that I don’t clean this dorm because I know you’re only saying that to distract me.”

Tony flashed a cheeky grin, “You’re not ignoring it if you’re acknowledging it, Honeybear.”

“Then acknowledge this,” Rhodey challenged, face schooled into a deceptively neutral deadpan, like the question he was about to ask wouldn’t send Tony spiraling into a week-long existential crisis. He leaned forward, voice calm and level and not at all accusatory, “Why won’t you let yourself be small?” 

_Why won’t you let yourself be small?_

Small, adjective: of limited size; of comparatively restricted dimensions; not big; little.

Synonyms included insufficient, inadequate, _trivial._

Tony Stark was in no way _trivial_, but there was something about constantly having to look up at people that made him feel like he was.

So… he compensated.

And Rhodey had been the first one to notice that the six inches he had grown over summer break weren’t completely natural. 

But because he was Rhodey, and because he _cared_, he hadn’t said anything until that moment in their dorm room.

“You’re safe here, Tones, you know that, right?” Rhodey had that look of concern in his eyes that Tony knew wasn’t going to go away any time soon. He’d moved to sit with Tony on his bed when his question had gone unanswered for a solid three minutes. Placing his hand on Tony’s, he rubbed gentle circles into his wrist, “You don’t have to wear your armor when you’re with me.”

Tony nodded, the tightness in his chest loosening slowly.

He knew that he didn’t need the press smiles or the elevator shoes when he was with Rhodey. But it was one thing to know in the back of your mind that someone was safe, and it was another thing entirely to consciously let your guard down around them in such a physical way.

Armor wasn’t a word that he would’ve used on his own, but once Rhodey had put it into his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Will you let me take off your armor?”

Tony’s reply had been a gentle nod as his mind drifted elsewhere. He sat, quiet and more afraid than he ever wanted to admit, as Rhodey took off his armor. He did it lovingly, kisses peppered gently from head to toe as he helped Tony change into a soft Air Force crewneck sweatshirt, cozy sweats, and fuzzy socks with robots on them.

Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him close. Tony looked up at Rhodey and Rhodey looked down at Tony, and despite the distance, Tony knew they were on equal ground. The words Rhodey whispered were filled with all of the care and affection in the world, “You never have to pretend with me.”

“You know the rules, kid,” Tony said, voice deceptively aloof, “shoes off.”

“They’re already off,” Harley muttered, making a move to push past Tony. He let the ten-year-old go without argument, only because he knew Rhodey was right around the corner. He’d had JARVIS give his husband a heads up when he’d been called to pick Harley up from school. Harley had mouthed off to a teacher who had tried to break up a fight between him and another student. It was the first time anything like that had happened, so the school decided to send him home to cool off.

One look at the angry blue eyes that stared him down when Tony had shown up told him he was right to take precautions. The ride home was deathly silent, and Tony knew that as the one who had picked the boy up, he wasn’t going to be the one to make Harley open up.

The rule was “no shoes” because it had started with Tony, but it wasn’t about feeling small. It was about letting yourself be vulnerable around the people who cared about you. 

It was about _trust._

And when Rhodey and Tony had offered to take Harley in after his mother’s passing, they knew it would be difficult for everyone involved. They knew Harley would have armor of his own that would need to be set aside.

Tony waited a few minutes before heading to Harley’s room. On the way, he made a pitstop to the kitchen to fill a water bottle up with banana milk and swipe a packet of frozen blueberries. When he reached the door, he stopped, waiting for his cue.

“I didn’t _mean_ to,” he heard Harley say, voice watery. “I just wanted it to stop.”

Rhodey hummed, “I know, baby.”

“I apologized after,” Harley continued, sniffling, “in the office. She said it was too late because I already did it.” There was a ruffling of what Tony guessed were clothes. “She said I was just trying to get out of trouble, but I _was_ sorry, _I swear_.”

“We’ll talk to the principal,” Rhodey promised. A pause, probably a hug. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“…Are you and Tony gonna send me back to Tennesee?” the question was quiet and nervous and displayed the fear that had probably been eating at Harley since he’d moved in with them three weeks earlier.

“We would _never,_ Harley,” Rhodey's voice was firm and full of a swell of protection. Tony knew that he was meeting Harley’s gaze head-on so that there was no confusion. “You’re part of our family, and family sticks together.”

And there was his cue. 

He knocked on the door.

“We’ll figure this out, I promise,” Rhodey whispered. Then, his voice got louder, “Come in, Tones.”

Tony opened the door to see Rhodey sitting with Harley on his bed, Harley held close to his side. The boy was wearing one of Tony’s old MIT sweatshirts, drowning in the sleeves just like Tony used to. His eyes were rimmed with red and he was fiddling with a puzzle cube nervously, but he looked considerably less tense than he did when Tony had picked him up.

A cursory glance around the room couldn’t identify any shoes that had been taken off, and Tony sighed to himself. When it was mental, it was harder, but Tony trusted Harley would be able to tell him this time.

Tony padded into the room quietly, sidestepping the pile of discarded clothes and sitting down on Harley’s other side. Tony looked down at Harley and Harley looked up at Tony, and despite the distance, they were on equal ground. He offered up the bottle of milk, “I’ll trade you for your shoes.” 

Harley looked down at the bottle like it held all the secrets to the universe. He glanced to Rhodey briefly, and at the encouraging nod, he set aside the puzzle cube and took the bottle. He gave the beverage a sniff before a small smile came over him and he took a nice, long sip. After replacing the screw cap, Harley let out a heavy, drawn-out sigh.

Tony watched as Harley let himself be small, let himself strip off his armor, let himself be vulnerable and trust that no one would take advantage of him. He lined up all the shoes he had taken off so that Tony could see them all in their purest forms, see the way some of them were tired and worn and barely holding themselves together.

And when Harley had finished telling his side of the events that transpired, that he'd only threatened a bully who had been picking on him since he'd started at that school, that the students around them had started jeering and yelling and he'd gotten overwhelmed and snapped at first person who tried to touch him, Tony wrapped the boy up in his arms, voice full of all of the care and affection in the world as he promised Harley that he would be safe with them, that they would always have his back.

He promised Harley that he was home, and he didn't have to pretend anymore.


End file.
